A Second Chance
by twilight guardian
Summary: Digimon and humans are at war. A public, global war and at the 10th anniversary at the start of it all, a teenage Takeru Takaishi starts an important journey that will force him to choose between what is expected of him, and what he feels is right. Trusting in his friends, he and the others will try and change the future.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! Thanks for reading. I have decided to publish the first chapter of this fanfic for Odaiba Day '14, Digimon's 15th anniversary. I hope you enjoy it. I would enjoy some feedback, whether you enjoyed it or not, what improvements you could suggest. Thank you!

Edit: It has been brought to my attention that I've failed to mention this: I do use a mixture of English and Japanese terms and names. The only notable in this chapter is Yagami instead of Yagami. This is intentional on my part because I have an odd mixture of preferences. If it takes you out of the story too much please let me know. If I get enough mentions, I'll be sure to change it.

I do not own Digimon.

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A Second Chance

Chapter 1

"Mom, I'm going out again." A young teen jogged to the door of their apartment, sliding his messenger bag over his shoulder. He slipped into his shoes, fighting briefly with the heels.

"Again?" His mother's exasperated voice called to him, her head eventually poking out of her study. "You know it's getting closer to the start of school, Takeru."

Takeru rolled his eyes. "I am, mom! I can go out once in a while, too, you know."

"At least tell me you're going to visit your father and brother while you're out. They are the whole reason we moved back to Odaiba, remember? Not to hang out with your friends."

Takeru grinned sardonically. "What friends? I only knew Taichi and Hikari Yagami, and only because she and I were the same age. They probably moved away by now."

His mother gave him an apologetic look. "I had a job offer, but only if we moved to Suginami. I'm sure you'll make lots of friends at your new school."

Takeru opened the door. "Sure, mom. I'll be the most popular new guy. They're always popular."

"Not with that attitude, sweetheart."

"Bye, mom."

"Oh, honey! Before you go, remember to stay away from the borders. That includes the harbour and beaches!"

"I will, mom. You know me."

"Exactly why I'm mentioning it." Takeru laughed and waved goodbye before slipping out the door. He was halfway down the hall by the time his mother opened it again.

"Also, please finish unpacking when you get back! I've been asking for three days!"

"Alright! Alright! Yeesh." Takeru blushed, hunching his shoulders as he stepped into the elevator. "See you later!"

He was starting to get to know his way around the immediate area. The walks he took every day were definitely paying off. Odaiba wasn't very big, so luckily he could already find his way about quite easily.

He made his way past the school, avoiding the downtown area by following along the beach. He stopped for a while at Kaihin Koen, relaxing for a while and taking in the serenity of the area. It was quickly becoming one of his favourite places to visit on short notice. When he was here it was easy to forget the entire world was under siege.

He stared at the waters and Rainbow Bridge for a good half hour before finally picking himself up and moving on. Making his way over the footpass to Promenade Park, it was apparent to him just how empty the area was. Normally around summer Odaiba was bustling with tourists from all over. Global travel was more difficult in recent years, but not impossible. Even so, tourism took a heavy hit as people opted to stick to their own countries or towns, for the most part. Odaiba was being built up as an incredible entertainment district, and while the attacks didn't outright stop it, the development had been stunted at the turn of the century to make way for increased military presence.

On his way over to Palette Town, Takeru stared intently at the military encampment in the empty lot between destinations. It was a small camp, tents lining the outer brim and a few inside, from what he could see. This camp was assigned to protect the entire area of Daiba, from the shipping yards to the east and south to half of Ariake to the west; the other half and beyond being taken up guardianship by another encampment situated between two parking lots in Shironome. Military camps were stationed in hundreds of places all over Tokyo, but were more frequent around large bodies of water.

The barriers usually stopped by the waters, unable to work effectively on a non-solid surface. None of them reached particularly far. The larger the barrier, the weaker it became. Many attempts had been made to expand the barriers, with little success. In the end it was decided to layer the barriers for maximum protection.

The largest in Japan surrounded the whole of Tokyo. Digimon as weak as the Rookie level could break through with varying degrees of success. It was rare for a digimon to attack the top of the barriers. They were arched in a dome with the barrier processors at the epicentre, making the them strongest nearest to them. Odaiba's was at the Miraikan National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

Takeru moved on, carefully watching the camp as he did.

The barriers were digital fields that acted as a firewall, keeping digimon out. They weren't perfect, however. Emergences of Rookie and Champion level digimon occasionally broke out, and were sometimes quickly contained before any damage or injury could occur.

Craning to see more of the encampment, Takeru stepped a little closer, painfully aware if he got too close he could be reprimanded by the personnel inside.

He could see movement outside of the barrier, too, in the distance over the water. Were there really digimon out there now, trying to get in? He looked around, squinting in hopes that would make it easier to see. A shadow fell over him, passing by in an instant. His heart sped up, spotting the creature who made the shadow overhead. A large bird-type digimon, red flames made up its plumage, razor-sharp teeth jutting out of its beakless jaws.

Takeru's heart was now in his throat as he watched the hellbird send a shower of fire down, bombarding the barrier. Below, the military camp came alive with activity. Retaliation fire flew effortlessly past the barrier. Birdramon – as he was sure the creature was called – dodging with seemingly mild effort on it's part; barely twitching a muscle as it glided this way and that.

The military was now on full alert, sirens blaring. Yells of orders and directions fought for dominance over the other noises Takeru clapped his hands over his ears, watching the birdramon intently as he backed off from the scene.

Birdramon was soon joined by another bird digimon, a black crow-like creature with a gold helmet over its face, some sort of metal appendages on the elbow of the wings and three legs. It circled around Birdramon, the bullets from the military guns disintegrating from the creature's aura.

Larger weapons fired at the two digimon, but by this time, Takeru was already sprinting toward Palette Town, keeping his eyes fixated on Daikanransha the entire time.

His legs felt like straw, that they'd give way at the next step he took. He could hear loud banging behind him and only briefly looked back at the near cost of his balance to see the two bird digimon body slamming the barrier. Claws raked at the nearly invisible firewall, sending crackling sparks into the air. Even from this distance, Takeru could smell the undeniable scent of something burning.

His plan to hide in the shopping complex was quickly forgotten the second the sound of something cracking and a high-pitched screeching of claws against the dome filled Takeru's ears. He made a quick turn down the path along the parking lot, over to Tokyo Teleport, taking the steps three at a time until his foot slipped at the last remaining steps. Takeru's teeth clenched, a growl escaping his lips as his knees scraped the concrete steps. Managing to catch himself before his face met the same fate, he caught a brief glimpse at how badly he was shaking before willing himself to get up. He didn't stop or even slow down until he felt the cool shadow of the skyscraper fall over him.

Without bothering to care about other people around him, Takeru finally allowed his body to give and he slumped to the ground. His lungs burned, but he kept gasping for air, sitting like a floppy doll until his body calmed down enough for him to stand.

Peeking over the rail back at the shopping complex, Birdramon and the crow digimon had broken in. They were now fighting directly with the military group. A blast shot from a tank, hitting Birdramon in the chest. It fell to the ground. The military personnel threw something – likely a net – on the flame bird and soon the crow retreated.

"That was intense." Takeru whispered. It was the first time he'd been that close to a battle. Such attacks were usually reported on a newscast documenting digimon activity, and if the attacks were severe enough would appear on the evening news. Being so close to the conflict, Takeru hoped he didn't get caught on camera. His father would see for sure.

Stepping off the pedestrian path, he headed in the direction of Searea Gobangai complexes. This time he'd cut through downtown. He wasn't sure about his dad, but unless Yamato was with his band, he was likely at home.

Arriving at the door, Takeru hesitated a moment before knocking. It felt weird standing there, as though he didn't belong or was at the wrong door – which he wasn't, he double checked.

Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. He was being stupid. It was his brother and father. He shouldn't be hesitant. Exhaling, he knocked at the door and waited.

A minute later the door opened and a broad-shouldered man answered. His expression changed from mild annoyance to surprise as he looked down at Takeru.

Takeru cleared his throat. "Uh... Hi, dad. Is Yamato home, too?"

Hiroaki nodded, opening the door. "Yeah... Come in, Takeru."

He complied, following his father into the apartment. Taking a seat at the kitchen table, Takeru looked around the apartment, scratching the back of his head.

Yamato's door was closed. He figured he was in there, doing something or another. Hiroaki walked over, giving a sharp rap on the door.

"Yamato, get out here. We have a visitor."

"Who is it?" Takeru heard Yamato's voice, muffled through the door.

"Well, why don't you get up off your butt and look?" Hiroaki snapped.

There was a brief silence before Yamato finally opened the door, running his fingers through his hair. "I swear, if it's Jun again I'm going right back – Takeru! Wow. Hey Squirt, I wasn't expecting to see you until school started up again. How have you and mom been?"

"Mom's busy as usual. I've been good. Just gettng used to the area, really." Takeru said. Yamato and their father both joined him at the table.

"Odaiba isn't very big. You'll get the hang of it pretty quick." Yamato said. "There isn't too much to this place. Not compared to downtown Tokyo."

Takeru laughed. "Yeah, I guess if I was really bored I could take a trip off the island."

"If you go across the water, be aware of your checkpoints." Hiroaki said. "Be aware of the weak points and stay clear of those areas."

Yamato laughed. "I'm sure he'd be fine, dad. He's a smart kid, and he's fifteen now. He can take care of himself."

Takeru smiled, his shoulders relaxing. "Thanks. So, how is your new military job, dad? Mom and I were surprised when we heard you quit your job at Fuji TV."

"Well, there's not as much need for personnel at the station. I figured I'd find something more productive. But it's great. I sometimes do more of the same due to my experience. There's different jobs to do, depending, and battle training is intense."

"Yeah, I had a taste of that training. Kind of brutal. I think the military junior program is a lot softer." Yamato said, leaning back and glancing at the fridge. "Hey, would you like a drink?"

"Yeah, sure. So, how come you took an adult course if you're still seventeen?"

"Well, there isn't much of a point getting myself stuck in a junior program when I'm going to be eighteen in less than a year. What about you? You're fifteen now. You can join the junior program and get the full experience." Yamato got up and started to rummage the fridge.

"I... don't know. Maybe. It's kind of scary, isn't it? Fighting digimon in combat?" Takeru didn't fail to notice the look his dad was giving him.

"It can be frightening." Hiroaki said. "But you get used to it after a while of going at it." Takeru nodded. Yamato placed a drink down in front of Takeru. He thanked him and took a sip.

"By the way, have you met any friends since moving here?" Yamato asked.

Takeru shook his head. "No. I hope I'll meet a few people when school starts up. Maybe I'll join the basketball team."

"Hikari Yagami still lives in Searea Gobangai. You remember her, right?" Takeru's eyes widened. "She used to ask about you all the time after you left."

"Yeah? It's been... nearly eleven years. I doubt she still remembers me. We were only five." Yamato shrugged.

"Well, it's better than having no one around at all."

"True." Takeru said softly. "Maybe it would work out. If he and Hikari could reconnect then he could have an easier time of adjusting to a new school. He wondered how much she changed.

Takeru talked with Yamato and their dad for a few hours. It was nearly sunset by the time he left. Perhps he'd go back to Kaihin Koen before heading home.

"Takeru!" A feminine voice called out from behind him. Shocked, and mildly curious, Takeru turned around. A girl with behaved, light brown hair ran down the steps of a nearby building, stopping in front of him. A camera case around her neck swayed with her movements. "It is you! I hardly recognized you!"

"Uh," He said stupidly. "Hi. Don't mean to be rude, but how do you know my name?" The girl's smile faded into a pout.

"You don't remember?" She did look vaguely familiar, Takeru had to admit. He couldn't quite place a name, however. "Maybe you'll remember this? Just one second..."

The girl dug around in her pockets before taking out a whistle. Takeru's eyes widened. She put the whistle up to her lips and blew softly.

"Hikari?" Her smile returned. "Wow, hi! It's great to see you. You look..." Amazing. "different."

She giggled. "So do you, but I think I'd recognize that blond mop of yours anywhere." She ruffled his unkempt hair. Takeru laughed and grabbed her hands.

"Miss Yagami, so bold. What happened to the shy girl I knew?"

Hikari laced fingers with him and squeezed, causing his grip to loosen. She slipped out of his grasp. "Maybe she grew up a bit?"

It was true. She had a different air about her. She held herself more confidently and spoke loudly with conviction, not to mention how playful she was being. When they were little she rarely spoke without her whistle, and her older brother was usually always somewhere close by. By the time Takeru did move away, Hikari had become comfortable enough to speak to him without the whistle, but she was so soft spoken it was often hard to hear her.

"Pretty impressive change." Takeru smiled. "Is my 'blond mop' how you recognized me?"

Hikari shook her head. "Your brother called me and said you were leaving the building. I wanted to catch you before you got too far."

"Makes sense. How have you been?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Nothing in my life has been all that entertaining. Other than Taichi moving out. But that's a given."

"Wow, already? My brother is still living with dad. Did he graduate early? Or just not attend senior high school?"

"He attended. But things have been a little... troubled at home in the last few years." Hikari's eyes danced around, avoiding eye contact with Takeru. He gently touched her shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She eventually looked up at him, and gave a small, forced smile. He took a step down the concrete stairs, holding his hand out to her. "Come on, we'll go to Kaihin Koen."

"That's near a beach." She looked around, a little worried.

"I know. But it's kind of serene, don't you think? I have only been living here for a few days, but I like going there. Besides, isn't it one of the areas that's protected by the coast guards?"

Hikari was silent for a moment, her eyes cast down in thought. "I guess it would be fine to go there. I'd like to spend more time with you."

Takeru smiled, turning around to face the beach. "Hikari Yagami the rebel."

She giggled. "Maybe Takeru Takaishi is just a bad influence?"

Takeru laughs, stopping at the bottom of the steps and turned around to face her. "Perhaps. But at least you accept that."

Crossing the street, they walked through the brief strip of foliage to walk along the beach, shoes and socks tucked in their hands. Neither of them talked, just enjoying the sight and smell of the ocean. Choosing a spot, they settled down, wrapping their arms around their legs. Hikari stared out at the water, deep in thought.

"My brother... renounced the military." She said after a prolonged silence. Takeru looked over at her, his mouth slightly agape at the news. He studied her expression, biting the inside of his lips at the worried look on her face.

"There are plenty of people who don't necessarily agree with how the military runs things. Your family isn't heavily involved in the war, are they?"

Hikari shook her head. "My father kind of backs them with donations when he can, but that's about it. That's not the problem. He joined... an anti-military rebellion group."

"What!" Takeru winced at the volume that reaction came with. He tucked his head into his shoulders, giving Hikari an apologetic look. "Aren't those guys who actively meddle in the military's affairs?"

"Yes. They don't just meddle, though. Some groups are actively pro-digimon. People say these goups are so demented they actually want mankind to lose and for digimon to take over." She hugged herself, resting her chin on her knees. "His reputation isn't good, Takeru. There are people all over, even in school who talk bad about him. Sometimes they even bully me for having him as a brother, saying I'll join him."

Takeru frowned. "That's terrible. They shouldn't harass you just because of a decision your brother made." He wondered if he'd like this new school if the situation was that bad.

Hikari gave him a reassuring smile. "It's alright. There are some people who stick up for me, like Daisuke Motomiya and his group. They're part of the military's junior division, so he has a lot of influence."

His expression softened back into a smile. He never heard of this kid, but he didn't seem like a bad guy from Hikari's description. He also must have been impressive if he made the junior Division. "That's good."

Not knowing what else to say he laid back into the sand, hands cushioning his head. They sat like this for a while, occasionally talking about various subjects, mostly to do with nostalgia and recalling their past together. Neither of them realized the time until the sun was nearly set. They parted ways with the promise they'd see each other more often.

Takeru walked along the beach, a smile plastered on his face like it would never go away. There was a swell of positive emotions, making him feel light and energetic. Quickly putting on his shoes and brushing himself off of sand, he ran home, the feeling still staying as he stepped through the door.

"I'm home." He announced, taking his shoes off at the door. He stopped in the kitchen to grab a snack before heading off to his room. The state of his bedroom reminded him he had to unpack still. Other than a few clothes, his bed and a few school-related essentials, pretty well everything else was still in boxes, stacked haphazardly around the floor and on the edge of his bed. Taking a bite of his snack, he went to work.


	2. Chapter 2

Much to Takeru's surprise, he wasn't feeling as much anxiety about attending his new school as he thought. He figured it was due to the fact that Hikari was in the same school. Even if they weren't in the same class, knowing she was there helped kill the feeling of loneliness.

His optimism and good mood only increased as he walked in for his formal introduction to the class. He saw her sitting there in the middle of the room, just off in the row to the right. There was a guy seated a little behind in the farthest row who slouched over on his desk, elbow planted and head leaning against his palm. Unlike everyone else, he was ignoring the front, instead choosing to stare at the back of Hikari's head.

This guy had short spiky brown hair, a tanned complexion and dawned a blue jacket with a fire pattern. Even if the schools had slacked on the dress code in recent years, - especially for those in the military program - it was rather ostentatious in Takeru's opinion. Only when Takeru was directed to sit beside Hikari did the brunet look over, the childhood friends whispering hellos to each other as he sat.

He didn't fail to notice the glare the spiky haired boy was giving him, a humorous mixture of anger and disbelief. Takeru couldn't help but smirk. Whoever this guy was, he seemed sensitive to the fact that Takeru has a history with Hikari to talk with her like this.

Class went rather smoothly, and he even managed to learn a few names of his other classmates. Most of them he could recall were from the basketball team, which he signed up for during the first break. He wasn't sure if he dodged the bullet or not with that angry-looking kid. As they packed up their things he overheard him mention something about soccer. While having no interest in it, Takeru did amuse himself with thoughts of beating him in a game.

It had been Taichi's sport. He knew mostly about how to play through him. He remembered Taichi spending many gleeful afternoons teaching him and Hikari how to kick the ball. He was a little impatient, hoping the two four year olds would become as good as he was in a few misguided lessons. But he was never mean to them for not being quite old able to get it. That was what kept those memories good ones.

On his way out the door, the brown haired kid stopped Takeru as he tried to leave, stepping in between him and freedom. He folded his arms in front of his chest, staring indignantly at him. He wasn't blinking. Takeru sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"Can I be let through, please? I'd like to go home." Takeru said dully.

"Who do you think you are, getting all buddy-buddy with Hikari?" The brunet said, loudly. Takeru's eyes narrowed.

"What do you care?" Takeru stepped forward, trying to get the other teen to budge. A hand grabbed Takeru's shoulder, shoving him back.

"I'm not done talking to you, blondy. Answer my question."

"I don't care. It's none of your business what goes on between Hikari and I." Once again, Takeru made an attempt at stepping past the brunet and was again stopped by him.

"Yeah, it kind of is my business. See this?" He opened his jacket, revealing his school uniform underneath. It was the first thing Takeru noticed, the badge on the other hand was what the kid was pointing to. On the inside of the jacket was a badge for the military's youth program. "Due to the situation, which is digimon-related, I have taken it upon myself to protect Hikari Yagami from harrassment as an official member of the Anti-Digimon Youth Division."

It dawned on Takeru now. "Oh, you're Daisuke." The situation he was talking about must have been Taichi going rogue. Knowing his name apparently caught Daisuke off guard as he dropped his jacket, giving a blank stare. "Hikari mentioned some kid named Daisuke helping her out yesterday."

"Hikari was talking about me, was she?" Takeru's eye twitched. He hated the way Daisuke said those words; smug with an underlying tone of hopeful. As though it were an obvious conclusion to something inevitable.

"She talked about a lot of things. If it means you'll let me go, Hikari and I are childhood friends. We reconnected yesterday when my brother told her I moved back into the area."

"Back into the area, huh?" Daisuke said, seeming to completely forget to step aside once Takeru relented his personal info. "Must not have been that long ago because Hikari was living in Hikarigaoka when she was younger."

"So was I." Takeru said with a sigh, trying not to show his irritation as Daisuke showed no sign of moving. As much as he liked the fact that he was no longer being accusatory toward him, he still wanted to leave. "Our parents left soon after the digimon attacked Hikarigaoka. Hikari's parents moved to Odaiba and I lived here for only a few months before moving to Suginami."

At least where he came from was public knowledge. Takeru pushed past Daisuke, ignoring the sounds of protest from the other boy. He was a quarter the way down the hall when Daisuke called out to him again.

"Hey, you dropped some-" Takeru turned around, seeing Daisuke actually looking at the pamphlet in his hand. It was a pamphlet that his father had given him to read over. He stuck it in his backpack to look over during lunch. Daisuke let his hand drop to his side, giving Takeru an amused look.

"Looking to join the youth division? You? You don't look like you have what it takes. No offence." It was clear he didn't mean that.

"Neither do you. Yet here you stand." Takeru held out his hand for the pamphlet. Daisuke looked at his hand and held the pamphlet closer to his body. With a frustrated sigh, Takeru turned around and swiftly walked down the hallway. Daisuke was calling him to come back, but he ignored him and jogged down the stairs, missing the last two steps, holding the railing as he rounded the corner and continued down until he was outside. From there it was a short run back to the apartments.

He stopped at AiMart for a moment to grab a new pamphlet from a stack next to the magazines and an ice cream. Takeru laid on his bed, casually nibbling at the ice cream as he read through the pamphlet.

He unfolded the pamphlet and started to read through it. The first page told what the youth program was about. The program was to train teenagers who were interested in joining the army but were yet too young to better prepare them. It was designed specifically to combat digimon. Soldiers that were in or came out of this would rarely ever go into regular combat.

The next section was about digimon themselves. Creatures from another world who first appeared around a decade ago in an event known as the First Contact Digimon Incident – or just the Digimon Incident. Supposedly, a group of kids disappeared shortly after and were never heard from again. This incident was pretty common knowledge, especially in the Tokyo area. The pamphlet went on to explain the different levels digimon could obtain.

Digimon were born from eggs, and this first stage after hatching was known as Baby. From there, digimon became In-Training, which was slightly more powerful. Both forms were easily dealt with little danger to humans. Their Rookie forms, however, were more problematic. While several magnitudes weaker than the next two stages, they could still be dangerous to the average unarmed or lightly armed citizen and being capable of damaging property. Champions were often much larger and more powerful, capable of large area destruction, and Ultimates were stronger than that. For both of the last tiers, it was recommended only trained personnel deal with them.

The third page had the questions of what digimon wanted and what the reader could do to help. The pamphlet explained that no one knew what digimon wanted other than land, and didn't object to getting rid of humans in order to do so.

Basically an invasion. Individuals aged sixteen could sign up and start training to use technology and fight weak digimon under the careful supervision of seasoned veterans in a highly protected facility in the middle of Tokyo. Those who joined would be instructed by those with years of experience dealing specifically with the threat of digimon.

Takeru finished the last of his ice cream, biting down on the stick. He wondered briefly how many different types of combat were utilized to fight digimon. Was it just technology? Or did they have some sort of hand-to-hand combat system in mind?

With a thoughtful look, Takeru flipped the pamphlet over. There wasn't much more information on the other side. There were photographs of teenagers in uniform, working on complicated tech, standing guard over the rainbow bridge, and even the aftermath of a battle, with some small orange, round digimon in a cage, held up by a very proud looking boy standing beside a tall man.

One of the kids he recognized. It was that Daisuke guy. He appeared in quite a few of these photos, actually. Takeru frowned. If he did join this group, that would mean he'd have to deal with Daisuke a lot. He wasn't exactly fond of him now, after the incident after school. Even if he did claim it was all to protect Hikari, that didn't give him the right to go around interrogating anyone who got close to her. It looked more like an excuse to check out the competition. Being that protective of her would only isolate her further, and that didn't sit well with him.

His eyes travelled back to the picture of the digimon in the cage. He didn't know why, but he was drawn to it for some reason. It was an In-Training stage known as a Tsunomon. He never encountered this species, but there was something about it.

Takeru tried to figure out what it was that drew him to the picture. The horn perhaps? It made up at least a third of the digimon's body size. No, that wasn't it. The shape? No. The colour…

Images ran through Takeru's mind, flashes of bright blinding light, men in military uniforms filled his vision, all unfamiliar faces if he could see a face at all. His father was there, yelling at him. The noise was deafening, orders being issues, his father calling his name, and shrill cries filled his ears. And a few flashes of orange accompanied a sick feeling in Takeru's stomach.

Takeru felt his knees hit the hard floor as he fell off his bed, kneeling on his knees and elbows, tucking his head in until it almost touched the wood floor. The last thing he saw was the frantic flapping of bat wings.

Taking a few moments to compose himself, Takeru just stayed there motionless apart from the laboured panting. The first movement he made was to swallow the saliva that was starting to trickle out of his open mouth.

Sitting up, he wiped his mouth clean and leaned his back against his bed. What was that just now? He only realized now that his body was shaking, sweat droplets forming and sliding down his face. His legs felt like jelly.

Was that a digimon attack? Had he really been that close to a digimon before? Takeru frowned, trying to recall ever being in that kind of situation. Apart from the attack yesterday, he couldn't think of anything. He wasn't even that close to that incident. Nor could he remember ever being near such surroundings, though he had to admit he barely saw any of it.

Scraping through the flashes of memory, Takeru tried to focus on the background. Well, there was dirt. A hill, and barbwire fencing or chain-link fence. It was all he could recover. Unfortunately it seemed that would be all he could get from those brief flashes of memory. If a digimon really did attack him in the past, it was likely he blocked out the traumatic memory.

He needed to take a walk to clear his head. Glancing back up at the pamphlet, it didn't take Takeru long to decide to check out the facility where all the training would be done. Then again, perhaps he should stay and ask his mom about what just happened to him.

He stepped outside after about ten minutes of deliberation. Well, if he was going to check out the facility, it might as well be while the sun was still up. His mother wasn't in her work room, anyway. Likely, she had retired to her room for a short nap before resuming her work.

She often had an afternoon nap so she could easily work late into the night, grabbing just enough sleep before starting her work day all over again. He wouldn't want to disturb her.

Catching the Tokyo Waterfront line from Odaiba Kaihin Koen station, Takeru soon found himself in a relatively unfamiliar part of the city. It wasn't often that he ever went to Shinbashi. Yet, looking down at the address on the pamphlet, the building was definitely around here somewhere.

As he wandered around, he wondered how big the building could even be if it was so close to the centre of the city like this. If they were going to have a properly large facility, they would have had to do a lot of reconstruction. It was only ten years ago after all, so before that other buildings would have been there prior.

Then again, there had been a lot of damage taken in the early years. Perhaps instead of rebuilding those exactly as they had before, the military instead bought a plot of land. That was the case with a few areas in the ground zero area, Shinjuku. This hypothesis seemed to be true as Takeru rounded a corner and stumbled upon a very large building.

The address was the same as the pamphlet. He wondered if he could go in to get any further information. Would they allow guests in? How much of the building would he be able to see?

Takeru stood in front of the building, having these mental conversations with himself, barely noticing when a rather tall man with short cropped black hair, a smart suit and glasses stepped out of the building. He nearly ran into Takeru.

"Oh, sorry." The man grunted. Takeru, slightly startled, sidestepped.

"It's alright, sir." Takeru mumbled back. The man continue on a few steps before stopping, and turned around.

"You lost, kid? Or are you interested in the program?"

"The program... But I'm not sure if I want to join or not." Takeru said, glancing back at the man. Looking at him now, Takeru recognized him from the pictures in the pamphlet. The man held out his hand to him.

"My name is Keisuke Tachikawa. I run the technology division for the Digimon Eradication program."

"Takeru Takaishi." Takeru said, briefly shaking his hand. "I was mostly just curious for now. My father, Hiroaki Ishida and my brother, Yamato Ishida are in the military already."

"I see. Well, if you're interested in our program, I encourage you to go inside. You look like a healthy young man. We could use more boys like you in our program. I'm sure you'd do very well."

He nodded a farewell to Takeru and went on his way. Takeru gave a small bow before turning back to the building. He took a step forward, and felt a hand grab his, another covering his mouth. Before Takeru could comprehend what was happening, he was dragged into a nearby alleyway.

Takeru struggled against his captor, who was larger and stronger by the feel of it. With only slight difficulty, he got Takeru far into the alleyway. Managing to break away, seemingly only because the assailant let him go, Takeru whirled around.

"What the hell is the big id-... Taichi?" Takeru's body laxed as he stared at the older man in surprise. He was a lot older now than the last time Takeru saw him. But he still had the same mop of hair he had back when they were kids.

Taichi gave him a lopsided grin. "Hey there, squirt. Long-time no see, right?" He stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Taichi, what's with dragging me into this alleyway? Why is Hikari saying you're part of the digimon sympathizers?" Taichi held his hand up.

"Whoa, that's a lot of questions. Just hang on. First of all, you saw Hikari? It's been a while since I've seen her. I haven't exactly been home since I graduated."

"I kind of got that. I moved back to Odaiba a little while ago. She said she was worried about you."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Taichi said, rubbing the back of his neck. He leaned against the wall. "It's true, I joined a group that doesn't quite agree with the military. So I guess I'm a bit of an outlaw, if there is such a thing anymore."

"Why did you drag me in the alley?" Takeru asked again. Taichi looked back at him and gave a sympathetic smile.

"I saw you talking with that guy. I had to get you out of the way somehow."

"But why did you drag me?" Takeru nearly growled, glaring at the older man. Taichi laughed and made a hand motion telling Takeru to calm down.

"I didn't know if you knew about my more recent lifestyle or not. If I approached you normally there was a chance you'd yell and I'd get caught. I'm an active member, Takeru. I could get incarcerated."

"So then what did you want to talk about?"

"I thought it would be kind of important to talk to you myself before you made any rash decisions."

"Rash decisions?" Takeru repeated carefully. "What are you talking about? What I do with my spare time is my business."

"True." Taichi said. He rubbed the back of his neck again. "Maybe it was just a waste of time talking to you, if you're determined to join that place. I just wanted to let you know that there are other methods to dealing with the digimon invasion than simply murdering them all."

He shrugged and walked past Takeru, not looking back but instead giving a wave. "See you, squirt."

Takeru left the alleyway, more confused than before. He decided to walk around Shinbashi a while longer to sort out his thoughts. A lot happened today. There was a lot to sort through. Hopefully he could get it all done before it got too late. The sun was already setting.

His first day of school could have gone a little smoother; especially toward the end. Then again was there really getting around being cornered by a guy almost looking for a fight? Then there was meeting Mr. Tachikawa and Taichi. It was really good seeing him again. Unfortunately it couldn't have come at a worse time.

He lingered on what Taichi had to say for a while. Could there really be an alternative solution to digimon invading Earth? Was such a thing even possible? With how long things have been going on, was an alternate solution to the fighting possible?

Thinking on what he witnessed, he wondered if it was just wishful thinking. There were countless attacks from the digimon on the cities all over the world, not just Tokyo or Japan. There were news reports every day. Even that attack yesterday was pretty intense.

How would such an alternative come about? Would the military and citizens go for it? Would digimon? Or was Taichi just being overly optimistic?

Before long, Takeru found him in a construction zone. Based on the surrounding buildings, it was the remains of a digimon attack. It was so far into the city. Likely it had to be a weakness in the barrier, or one of the in-between zones. Takeru stopped. When did he travel so far?

It was then that he heard soft whimpers coming from inside the debris. Slowly, Takeru approached the site, ducking under a beam and sliding down a patch of muddy hill. He was nervous. The feeling in his stomach returned. Removing a pile of trash, Takeru jumped back when an orange and cream digimon was uncovered.

He fell back hard on his backside, and scrambled until his head met a beam. Panting heavily, Takeru's eyes darted around. They fell back to the digimon in question, who didn't move. It was bean-shaped, with four legs ending in paws, and bat-like wings in place of ears. Large blue eyes were red and watery with tears. It looked like one of its wings and legs were caught in some sort of trap.

Takeru sat there, staring mouth agape, unsure what to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello lovely readers. Thanks for sticking with me to chapter 3 of this fanfic. Updates might go a bit faster due to my participating in NaNoWriMo. First of all, I want to thank all who have reviewed so far, especially SeanyMac23 for their wonderful review. Also, for plot reasons I've gone back and edited the last two chapters, changing Hikari's surname to Yagami.

I hope that you'll all continue to read and enjoy this fic, and perhaps tell me how I'm doing.

A Second Chance  
Chapter 3

* * *

Takeru was sure his heart was in his throat, pounding wildly. He was also sure it was going to bust if he moved. So there he sat, staring wide eyed at this creature, a metre in front of him. A digimon.

The digimon was staring back at him. It wasn't moving. Maybe if he could get up slowly he could get out and find help without being attacked.

That is, if he could get his body to move. He was shaking, and he felt light. He could spring up and bolt. But his body wasn't moving no matter how loudly his mind was screaming.

A whimpering sound met his ears. Great. Now he was crying like a kid. Maybe Daisuke was right; he wasn't cut out for the youth division after all.

Listening, it only took a few seconds to realize the whimpering wasn't coming from him. Takeru looked around. Was there a kid here after all? His eyes fell on the digimon before him. Its orange body was also shaking, large eyes squeezed shut, jaw clenched. Its belly had fallen into the dirt as it feebly pawed at the trap with its free leg. Blood was trickling from the open wound, gushing periodically and dissolving into pixels.

"Digimon bleed?" Takeru spoke without thinking, causing the rather small creature's large eyes to open. The whimpers stopped. Takeru tensed and leaned back slightly. The digimon sniffed.

"What?" It squeaked. Its voice sounded young, and high pitched.

"Uh…" Takeru said smartly, his shoulders managing to relax. "I just didn't know digimon bled." Or spoke.

"Of course digimon bleed." The digimon said indignantly. "What kind of mon doesn't?"

"I don't know." Takeru said lowly, his eyes shifting around uncomfortably. "I actually don't know much about digimon other than they're dangerous. I'm just a civilian." There was a long pause. The digimon stared at the trap, seeming to give up on trying to pry itself free for the moment.

"What's a civilian?"

Takeru stared, mouth slightly agape, trying to find his words. "A… non-combatant. A regular person."

"Not every human fights?" There was genuine curiosity in his voice.

"N-no. Fighting isn't something we normally do." Takeru's thoughts immediately went to all the wars fought in antiquity and the smaller, more domestic scuffles. That would be a little difficult to explain, though. One step at a time. He had to choose his words cautiously. "Don't digimon have times when they don't fight?"

Once again, his mind went to what he'd been told about digimon. He'd feel foolish if he asked anyone that question. As far as anyone was concerned, digimon were just angry beasts. Now that a digimon was in front of him, however, he guessed he couldn't help himself.

"I guess, sometimes. Though everyone's been fighting more and more lately."

"I… I see." The silence allowed Takeru time to think, though whether or not that was a good thing was yet to be seen.

"This is really weird." Takeru mumbled with a sigh. The digimon raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

"I guess..." It looked down at its caught foot and wing. Takeru chewed apprehensively on his lip. He was going to do it. It was crazy, but he'd still try.

"Hey… do you want out of there?" It gave him a suspicious glare.

"No, I like it here. It's good for my health." Takeru reeled a bit.

"Wow, sassy." He shook his head and chuckled. "Do all digimon have a mouth, or is it just you?"

"Depends on what mon you talk to. Not like I'd expect a human to talk to a digimon."

"I'm talking to a digimon," Takeru countered.

"A second time," It snapped.

"Well, fine." Takeru slowly stood up, minding his head and the beam hanging in his way. "I really was going to get you out of there, provided you don't bite my hand off. Then you could have gone off back to your own world where you belong."

"…You'd really do that?" Takeru turned back to face the orange digimon.

"Yeah. I came here to help who was crying. I might as well do that, even if you aren't a human kid."

It looked down at its trapped limbs, then nodded. Takeru slowly bent down, using the beam to steady himself.

"You're not going to bite me, right?"

"I won't."

Takeru slowly put more weight on his knees, leaning forward. His free hand found the dirt. Takeru located his heart again as it began to pound in his chest. His hand seemed to take forever to reach the digimon. Its blue eyes closed tightly. Takeru tested the strength of the trap before adjusting himself, freeing both hands. He pried, sliding his fingers widely apart. He grunted as the trap gave way, trying his best to keep it from slipping and possibly chopping pieces of himself and the digimon clean off. The trap gave a little and slowly opened. The digimon slipped its wing out, and moments later the paw was freed.

Takeru immediately tore his hands away, and the trap snapped shut. He fell back, staring at the digimon, who was sitting on its hind legs. He quickly got to his feet, causing the digimon to jump.

"Well, you're free now. Just go back to your world and neither armies will have to get involved, right?" He turned around, stepping over some rubble. There was a brief thought of the digimon attacking him while his back was turned. He shook it from his mind.

"Hey," Takeru turned his head to look at the digimon. "Thank you."

The blond smiled. "You're welcome. My name is Takeru, by the way."

"Patamon." Takeru climbed up the small bank and finally cleared the construction area. He jogged away from the site, feeling rather weightless. He was in a good mood, he decided, after a moment of deliberation. He survived an encounter with a digimon. Not only had he survived, he had a civil conversation.

Takeru frowned as he continued on, looking up occasionally to make sure he didn't run into anything. But he was running on automatic.

Were digimon really the monsters the army made them out to be? Obviously they could have human-level intelligence, that much was well known. But Patamon was clearly speaking a human tongue. Patamon clearly seemed capable of reasoning. He also displayed emotions. That was one of the reasons why he'd decided to help in the first place. 'He.' Well, Takeru figured it was a 'he,' even if by his voice alone. It didn't feel right to call a being like that an 'it,' in any case.

Spotting a convenience store, Takeru slowed down and entered. He was only somewhat aware of what he was doing until the box of bandages were in his hands. He stared down at them. His brows furrowed. His eyes travelled to his fingers. One of them had a small cut. Well, that certainly was an excuse. However, he knew why he'd come in for these.

"I must be out of my mind." He muttered. He walked to the front, grabbing a pair of chocolate bars. At least he should get a more traditional peace offering. Did digimon eat chocolate?

He paid for the items and started back in the direction of the construction site. He took the path at a slower rate. Mixed feelings ran through his mind. On one hand, he kind of hoped Patamon was still there. On the other, he hoped Patamon was long gone. It was all too easy for this to just end at that. He picked up his pace.

Arriving back at the construction site, Takeru located the opening he fell into. The trap was empty. Takeru exhaled in a mixture of relief and disappointment.

He turned around and began to make his way out of the area. It would be best to report a sighting and possible gate in the site. That would mean he'd have to admit he went poking around, though. He was sure he wouldn't get in trouble. He thought he heard someone, after all.

Movement in the outer peripheral of Takeru's vision stopped him in his tracks. With slight laboured breathing, he looked around.

A flash of orange flew into Takeru's line of sight and with force, pushed him down behind a slab of concrete. It wasn't until Takeru caught his breath that he saw Patamon standing in front of him, peaking around the corner.

"Patamon… what—"

Patamon gave a curt shushing, keeping his eyes on whatever was beyond. Takeru looked around before finding a protected, dark area and promptly stuffing himself in the tight nest of bars. No sooner had he gotten his straggling limb inside the darkness did a large black paw come into view.

Takeru's eyes slowly trailed up the large beast's body. Black, short fur and skin twisted around the emphasized spine spikes and the red marks on its shoulders and hips. A spiked collar circled its thick neck. Completing the look of a Doberman was a sleek head and slender muzzle and beady red eyes.

The dog digimon looked around, its eyes falling on Patamon. Lowering its head, the digimon spoke in a low, growling voice that made Takeru's hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"What are you doing here, Patamon? This breech zone hasn't been cleared as safe yet."

Patamon fidgeted uncomfortably, his eyes darting from place to place, always avoiding looking in Takeru's direction. "I guess I was curious what the human world looked like."

"Go back to the Digital World, Patamon. I'll check things out here. When I deem it safe, we'll start our conquest of this area."

With a small sigh, Patamon nodded and turned in the direction of the area Takeru found him in. Patamon glanced back at the dog.

"Dobermon, please be careful. The humans have set traps here. I was caught in one, but managed to free myself." He held up his wing for emphasis. It still looked badly wounded, though was no longer bleeding.

Dobermon nodded. "I shall, little one."

The dog took a few steps past Takeru's hiding place and stopped. Takeru held his breath, cupping his hand over his mouth and nose. Dobermon sniffed at the air.

"I smell a human. A human and something sweet."

Takeru cursed himself silently. Of course all that running around would make him sweat. Buying the chocolate was dumb, too. He lifted himself up in an effort to scoot back silently as he could, trying his best to stifle the sound of shifting dirt and gravel. Cold metal hit his skin and Takeru jumped, nearly gasping audibly. Feeling around with his free hand clumsily, Takeru ducked under the beam. Dobermon crouched down, chest in the dirt and sniffed the spot in front of where Takeru had just been.

"Are you sure a human is here right now?" Patamon asked nervously.

"Maybe not right now. But recently. Very recently." Dobermon crawled further inside Takeru's precious hiding place. Takeru was against a half destroyed concrete wall, pressing himself hard into the cold rock and wishing he could melt into it like a chameleon. His foot pushed at the dirt, and into Dobermon's nose. The digimon snuffed the dirt away and growled.

Frantically looking around, Takeru scrambled to the left and toward an open area as Dobermon opened its mouth.

"Schwarts Strahl!" A beam shot from the digimon's mouth, missing Takeru barely by a foot. He ducked, and hastened to his feet, running as fast as the space would allow a crouched teen. A metal bar stuck from a chipped block of concrete. The bar was bent badly and looked like it could break off. If he could just get to it he'd at least have something in terms of a weapon.

Reaching the bar, Takeru placed his foot on the concrete slab and pulled on the bar. It wasn't coming off. Dobermon freed himself from the mess of beams and circled around. He ran full force at Takeru, mouth lined with sharp teeth opened wide, ready to snap shut around his throat.

With a grunt, Takeru pulled on the bar with all his strength, lifting it and the slab up, smacking it into Dobermon's shoulder. He felt the impact reverberating through the bar and into his hands; the sturdy body and how it caved to the weight of the concrete. The force of the impact was enough to send Dobermon into the dirt with a yelp of pain. The slab was nearly wrenched from Takeru's hand by its own weight, and he conceded letting it fall hard on the ground, nearly pulling him down with it.

Dobermon stood up and shook himself, growling at Takeru. The teen stepped back, sweat trickling down the side of his face. The entrance to the site wasn't that close, but he could still get to it. Unfortunately, he was sure this digimon could easily run him down before that. He took a step back.

The helldog lunged at Takeru, who braced himself. He lifted his makeshift hammer a second time, but with another beam attack from the digimon's mouth, the hammer was obliterated, causing Takeru to fall backwards. Dobermon leaped, claws outstretched toward Takeru.

He shifted, his face landing in between Dobermon's large paws, a claw scraping at his cheek. The digimon's maw flew at Takeru's face, which he caught by grabbing at the dog's cheeks. Rows of sharp teeth drew slowly closer, putrid hot breath and drool dripping on Takeru's face. He pushed on the skin harder, fingernails scraping at the inside of the dog's mouth.

Takeru's eyes opened, seeing a clear ball of air flying toward a rickety structure above himself and Dobermon. The bubble hit, causing the rubble to break off and fall toward himself and the digimon. With a kick, Takeru pulled the digimon's feet out from under it and used the precious moment to slide out of the way. The rubble fell on Dobermon as it was trying to stand, pinning him to the ground.

Panting heavily, Takeru spent a moment letting his brain catch up enough to process what happened. A mistake, perhaps, as his legs turned to jelly. He willed himself to move, heading on wobbly knees to the exit.

Patamon flew into view, a worried look on his face. He glanced back at Dobermon, who was now freeing himself from the rubble. Takeru climbed with slight difficulty up the mound, small paws from Patamon on his back as the orange jellybean shaped creature helped a little. Takeru didn't stop until he was well out of the construction site and into a nearby alleyway.

His back slammed against the wall and slid down. He sat there, panting heavily. Patamon was also breathing heavily, and also looked quite anxious. Takeru held his hand out toward Patamon, who merely looked at his outstretched hand before slowly putting his paw on the palm. Gently, Takeru's fingers closed.

"Thank you." Takeru said. "That was you… wasn't it? That brought the rubble down?"

"Yes." Patamon said.

"Can I ask why?" Patamon looked into Takeru's eyes, searching for something.

"You helped me out. I thought I'd return the favour. Why'd you come back?"

Takeru gave a weak chuckle. "Well, a peace offering, kind of. If you were still there." He pulled the squished chocolate bar from his pockets, presenting them to Patamon. He also pulled out the band aids. "I thought maybe you needed these."

Patamon looked down at the band aids. "What are they?"

"They're band aids." Takeru explained, taking one out of the box and peeled off the packaging. He showed Patamon the cut and put the strip around his finger. "They keep dirt and bacteria out of your wounds, allowing them to heal faster."

"I see…" Patamon picked one up and inspected it. He looked back up at Takeru. "Thank you."

Takeru grinned and pulled out his cellphone. "I have to contact someone about the breach in that old building. If it was just you in there, I'd make sure you went back through. But if Dobermon's there, he's going to probably try and come after me and hurt a lot of people in the process."

Patamon looked uncomfortable at this, but seemed satisfied with Takeru's explanation of why. He busied himself with trying to unwrap the band aid, and unsticking himself with the ends long enough to wrap one around his wing. Takeru reached out to touch it, but Patamon flinched away.

Takeru sighed. "Look, I'm sorry that it has to be like that. You can run back in and go through before anyone gets there."

Patamon shook his head. "I'll probably be seen. I wasn't thinking of that when I followed you here. Someone probably already saw me. They're going to find me and delete me. I should never have come here."

Takeru thought for a moment, watching Patamon apply the band aids. "Well… maybe you can live here, then."

Patamon looked up at him. "What? How do you expect me to do that?"

"Uh, well…" Takeru scratched his cheek in thought. "There's a place around my home that is forested. Odaiba isn't all that crowded. Oh… I guess that wouldn't work because we'd have to go over Rainbow Bridge and a lot of checkpoints. Well, there's always a park. It would need to be big enough that you can easily hide. You're small, so it shouldn't be that difficult. What about Hamarikyu Gardens?"

"What's that?"

"It's a park not that far from here. It's quite big, so there's lots of places to hide. It's not all that far from where I live, either. I can come visit you."

"You'd really come visit me?" Patamon asked, his ears perking a little.

Takeru smiled. "Well, of course! We're… I guess friends now, aren't we?"

Patamon looked at him, as though he realized as well how weird a concept this was. A smile slowly appeared on his face. "Yeah. I guess we are!"

"Now to get you there." Takeru mused. He looked around for any kind of inspiration. "Maybe you could hide in my jacket."

Patamon scrunched his face. "In your jacket? Will that really work?"

Takeru looked down at his jacket. It was somewhat padded. There was a chance he could fit the digimon naturally in there. "Yeah, maybe. I doubt anyone will ask."

"If you say so." Patamon said slowly.

Takeru stood up and unzipped his jacket. He picked Patamon up gingerly and tucked him inside his jacket. He zipped it up experimentally. It didn't look all that bad. "How are you doing, Patamon?"

"It's kind of hard to breathe." Patamon said, his voice muffled from the jacket.

"You think you can make a trip to the park?"

"I think so."

"Great." Takeru picked up the box and the chocolates, stuffed them in his pockets and casually walked out of the alleyway. He carefully looked at all the people who passed by. So far, they didn't seem to pay attention.

Takeru walked to the gardens, not really calming down until they arrived. Patamon on the other hand was stiff even after. It was a gruelling fifteen minute walk for both of them. Takeru didn't let Patamon out until they were well inside the gardens, and into a thick part of the trees.

Patamon flew out of his jacket as soon as Takeru unzipped it. He landed on the ground and looked around.

"So, what do you think? Would living here for a while be alright? We can make you a little shelter when it rains."

"It looks really pretty here. Like we left the city." Patamon turned around to look around more.

"I'm glad." Takeru sat down, resting his back against a tree. He took out his cell again and looked at it, and dialed the number for a response squad. Patamon stood perfectly still as the phone rang, as though they'd hear if he twitched a muscle. A woman answered on the other end in a professional tone.

"Ah, yes. I'd like to report a digimon sighting in Shinbashi. There's a building being torn down and I think a digimon opened a gate in there. Sorry? Do I know the name of the digimon? Dobermon, I think. No, ma'am, I didn't." Takeru answered the woman's questions and gave the address of the old building. He hung up and looked down at Patamon. He still looked uncomfortable about Takeru calling.

"If Dobermon is smart he'll hear the military pull up and run back to the portal." Takeru said. "Anyway, it's getting late. I should probably head home soon."

"Okay." Takeru stood up, pulling the chocolate bar out of his pocket and tossing it to Patamon, who caught it.

"It's not that great a dinner, but you won't go hungry." Patamon and Takeru smiled at each other. He left for home, feeling a lot more optimistic.


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter was finished in no time. Considering the word-count I need to write to every day and how long my chapters get it comes as no surprise. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

A Second Chance  
Chapter 4

* * *

Two weeks passed since the incident at the construction site. Takeru went to meet Patamon every day after classes and after school activities finished. He could bring food for Patamon to eat and they'd talk until well after the sun set.

Their topics were varied, but mostly centred around the back and forth exchange of information about their worlds. Patamon opened up a lot after the first few days and was even enthusiastic about learning about the real world. Takeru also warmed up to their new situation. Neither of them had awkward pauses, stiff muscles or second thoughts. Being together was second nature now.

It was for that reason new uncomfortable thoughts surfaced in the teen's mind. During the entire time he spent with Patamon, he never once thought of progressing with his original plans to join the youth division. He mostly avoided Daisuke, though seeing as Takeru never brought the subject up with anyone, it might have been he didn't yet have another reason to confront him again. He left Takeru alone on the subject of Hikari. Despite being so confrontational, it seemed Takeru's explanation of their closeness was good enough. At least that much was off his back.

"Is there something wrong, Takeru?" Patamon's question brought him out of his musings. He smiled and shook his head.

"I was just wondering what I should do now. Before I met you, I was thinking of joining a program that would train me to eventually fight digimon. Mostly I was thinking I could spent more time with my father and brother. Or at least have something I can talk to them about and relate with."

"You're not thinking of joining them anymore, right?"

"No," Takeru said after a short pause. "I don't think I could now. It would feel too much like fighting you."

"I guess you'll just have to tell your family you won't do it after all." Patamon said. He bit into one of the meat buns Takeru brought.

"Or you could join us." A loud crunching sound followed the words. Both Takeru and Patamon whirled around to see a boy Takeru's age. He was leaning against a tree behind them, backpack hanging off one shoulder, a half-bitten apple in hand.

The two quickly stood up, glaring at the newcomer. He had short blond hair and blue eyes, strictly Caucasian features with no hints of Japanese. A foreigner. The boy motioned for them to calm down.

"Relax. I'm not going to rat you out. My name's Willis. You're… Takeru Takaishi, am I right?"

"Yes…" Takeru said, eyes narrowing slightly. "How do you know me?"

"I have my ways. The important thing here, though, is that you have gone and befriended a digimon. That's practically unheard of, even in my circle."

"And just what is your circle?" Patamon asked. Willis shrugged, taking another bite of his apple.

"We're just some people who don't think the way things are now between humans and digimon is good, and want a more peaceful solution."

Patamon glanced up at Takeru with a confused look on his face. Takeru let out a sigh, his stance loosening a little. "You're a member of a rebel faction, aren't you?"

Willis grinned. "Bingo! You get the prize."

"Prize?" Patamon asked.

"He's being sarcastic, Patamon." Takeru said.

"Oh, come on now, I am not." Willis pouted. "It's just all in good fun. You're right. I'm a member of a rebel group who goes against the military. In fact, I'm a digimon sympathizer. Like you."

"I wouldn't… really call myself a digimon sympathizer. Takeru said, glancing down at Patamon. He fidgeted with his bag. "I just want to be friends with Patamon and keep him safe."

Willis frowned and pointed at Takeru. "You befriended a digimon. If you're caught it doesn't matter if you're still loyal to humanity or not. They'll treat you like you betrayed your own race and you'll be thrown in jail for war crimes and Patamon will be deleted. You'll never be able to do anything if that happens, even if you are found innocent despite all the evidence against you. Your family will be stigmatized and your father and brother might lose their jobs. Forget about potentially joining them."

"Yeah, and won't the exact same thing happen if I joined your group and fought against my family and humanity? That's what you came here for, isn't it? To recruit me?" Takeru's voice was getting more agitated.

"At least you'd have been involved in a good cause instead of just sneaking around and hiding Patamon away like a secret pet!"

Takeru's gaze fell to Patamon, a pained expression on his face. Patamon was trapped here whether or not Takeru was friends with him or not. Still, was it right for him to go off with a rebel group like this?

"What do you think, Patamon? Should we join this guy? We'll be fighting against both humans and digimon if we do." Patamon crossed his chubby little arms in thought.

"I do admit I feel guilty just sitting here. I doubt we can really make a difference." Patamon said. "But I'm not scared of being deleted, Takeru. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Wait, you—"

"If you do join us, Patamon will be moved to our hideout. There's more people than just me, and we have other digimon that work with us. You won't feel so alone." Willis offered, his tone more gentle this time around. Patamon looked up to Takeru and nodded.

"Let's do it." Takeru said. He smiled down at his partner. "It's better than coming to the gardens every day worrying that I'll see military vans."

"If you're sure." Patamon said. He turned to Willis. "We accept your proposal."

"Great." Willis smiled. "You won't regret it."

He pulled his backpack off his shoulders and unzipped it. Inside were two nearly identical rabbit-like creatures, a white and green, and the other brown and pink. The white one groaned and leaned against the stiff backing of the bag.

"Willis, can we get some fresh air? We've been cooped up in here for a while."

Takeru stared wide eyed at the backpack, and glanced up at Willis. "You just carry digimon around that casually?"

"Sure, Terriermon. Can you hand me the smaller backpack in the other compartment? The one for emergencies?" Terriermon nodded and ran around front of the bag while the brown one hopped out. Patamon flew over to them excitedly, landing in front of the two digimon. Willis turned back to Takeru. "Well, yeah. How else are we supposed to go around together? They're my partners. I need them around."

"Wow! I didn't think I'd see another digimon!" Patamon said. "I'm Patamon, who are you?"

"I'm Lopmon." The brown bunny pointed to themselves. "I didn't think we'd meet another human-digimon duo."

"Yeah, you two're really steeped in it now." Terriermon said, trying to balance the backpack as he walked over to Takeru. "I mean, Willis has a hard time keeping us all out of trouble. You should have done the smart thing and walked away."

"Terriermon!"

"What? It's true."

"Things have been getting worse now that the anniversary for the war is coming closer." Lopmon said. "We've been thinking the military has been wanting to increase the force of their attack and pushing the war in their favour."

"Yeah. That's why we need to get more active more than ever." Willis said, holding open the bag. Terriermon and Lopmon hopped inside. "We should get going."

Takeru took the bag. "How do you expect Patamon to get past the checkpoints?"

"Simple, we use the weak points in the barriers." Willis said. "Usually we travel outside the barriers. It can be a tight fit, but at least we can bring along our partners. Well, some of us. Some digimon are a little two big. Luckily these two are small enough." He jutted a thumb at the two rabbits.

Takeru unzipped the backpack and Patamon flew inside. "This is a lot roomier than your jacket!"

He chuckled and zipped the bag up. "So, Willis, how did you get involved in all this? How did you get to Japan? When did you meet those two digimon?"

"You could say I've always been involved." Willis said, zipping up his own pack and walked toward the closest road leading out. "I met Terriermon and Lopmon about eight years ago when the gates in America started opening up. Back then they were just Toddlers. We'd been friends ever since."

"Toddlers?" Takeru asked.

"Oh yeah. I keep forgetting humans call their stages something different. You know the digivolution stages as Baby, In-Training, Rookie, Champion and Ultimate. But that's not what digimon refer to them as. They're called Baby, Toddler, Child, Adult and Perfect. Technically the stage is called Baby Two. But that's a rather awkward thing to say, so I just say Toddler. Kind of like a human lifecycle, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah…" Takeru thought he remembered Patamon saying something about children and adults. He didn't quite understand what he meant, and simply did a smile and nod sort of thing. The main point had always gotten across, and that was the main thing. This made everything clearer.

Willis continued. "You could say I kind of started this group. When the war efforts in America got worse, I started spending more and more time on my own. My mom wouldn't understand, so I just pretended like I was in camp. Then when I had a girlfriend for a while I made the excuse that she invited me to study abroad in a student exchange program. But really, I broke up with her a long time ago. I came here because I wanted to see the source of where everything happened. See if I could do anything here."

"That explains why you know Japanese." Takeru said. "So you're living with someone currently? Or are you a vagabond?"

Willis laughed. "Vagabond sounds more like it. Though I still keep up the guise of a high school student. My mom would get suspicious if she phoned the school and they didn't know who I was. I mostly live in the hideout with the others. Rent's really cheap when you live outside the habitable zones, you know?"

"Sounds like you lead a pretty interesting life." Takeru said.

"Fairly, yeah."

Willis led them around the city, keeping inside the barrier as much as possible. It called for a lot of boarding and exiting of public transit, and a lot of footwork. Eventually, they landed in Shinjuku, specifically the area that was mostly abandoned by the city's protection since the initial digimon attack.

Takeru gently set his backpack down and looked around. "This is where you have your hideout?"

"Yep. I told you, I wanted to find the source of everything and Shinjuku is it. Come on, the hideout isn't that far from here." They passed through Shinjuku Park. Despite being so close to ground zero, it was still pretty intact. In fact, it looked like most of it was still inside a barrier, though on the very outskirts. Willis led them to the edge of the barrier and looked around.

"There's a weak spot in the barrier due to the prevalence of the gate. Once we pass through it's just a short walk to the building."

Willis walked through without much of a problem, though Takeru hesitated. Still, they'd gone this far. Takeru followed, looking at the surroundings carefully. Unlike the rest of the city, this area was rather beaten up. People still lived here, of course. But the upkeep wasn't as grand as inside the barriers. The buildings were shabbier and dirty. Occasionally Takeru could see rubble littering the sides of the streets.

"What happens to you guys if a digimon attacks the area? I mean, there's no barrier to protect you." Takeru asked.

"We've been working on getting our own barrier online, just for the hideout. Problem is, we'd like to make sure digimon can still pass through it safely when we want them to." Willis said. He stopped at a rather large old building. It looked like it used to be some sort of business shop. "Here we are."

Takeru stepped inside, unzipping his backpack as soon as the door closed. Patamon flew out. Most of the things from the shop's previous life had been cleared to allow extra room. Essentials were still kept, such as couches, chairs and tables. Computers littered the area, centring mostly on the back wall desk. The room was empty apart from them. Three entrances connected the building, the middle leading to what was presumably the living quarters of the original inhabitants. The leftmost looked makeshift.

"Where are the others?" Patamon asked. Willis sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he went to sit at a table. Terriermon and Lopmon followed.

"Actually… a few days before I found you there was a big fight. Nearly everyone was captured and sent to prison. The digimon we were working with mostly fled back to the Digital World." A familiar voice caused Takeru to turn around. Standing in a doorway to the next room was Taichi, arms folded across his chest. Next to him was a small yellow dinosaur Takeru recognized as an Agumon.

"T-Taichi." Takeru said, surprise in his voice. "So this is the group you're with."

Taichi grinned, scratching the back of his head. "Yep, this is it. Kind of pathetic, wouldn't you say?"

Takeru sat down opposite Willis, and Taichi took a seat between them. The digimon crowded around the table. Takeru shook his head.

"I admit I'm a little disappointed. When Willis offered a group I thought it would be more than the three of us. I was expecting… more."

"Well, there wasn't a lot of us to begin with. But we definitely did get a big blow against us. I admit I was a little desperate when trying to recruit you. I was hoping I could bring our numbers back up, starting with you." Willis said. "Kamiya was the one that told me about you in the first place. He said you were a decent guy and I should look into you. I wasn't really expecting you to befriend Patamon."

"Wait, Kamiya?" Takeru looked over at Taichi. He laughed.

"I changed my last name to protect myself. I kept the kanji for 'kami' but took out the kanji for 'hachi,' replaced it with 'ya' and then switched them around so that 'kami went first."

"Wouldn't it have made more sense to use 'tani'?" Takeru asked.

"That's more typical. But I wanted the symbology of an arrow rather than a valley. Besides, Kamiya was how Willis misread my name when he first met me." Taichi said with a laugh.

Willis looked between the two and growled in frustration. "I have no idea what the heck you two are even talking about. Japanese is confusing."

Takeru gave Willis a sympathetic look, but Taichi only laughed harder, patting Willis generously on the back.

"Don't sweat it, Willis. You'll learn to read Japanese eventually."

"How the heck do you even get 'ya' out of hachi and 'gami' out of 'kami' anyway? This language makes no sense."

Takeru turned away from the squabbling rebel members and turned to the yellow digimon. "So, how did you get involved in all of this? You're Agumon, right?"

"That's right." Agumon nodded. "Most of the digimon working in this group were actually recruited by Willis. He's the only one any of us really trusted."

"Why's that?" Takeru asked.

"Patamon, let me show you to your room." Agumon said, getting down from the chair. Patamon glanced at Takeru before following Agumon. Takeru sighed and got up from his seat.

"Thanks for bringing Patamon to a safer home. It's probably best I get back. I have school tomorrow." Taichi and Willis stopped their bickering to look at him.

"Are you sure?" Taichi asked. Takeru nodded. Taichi stood up as well. "I can walk you to the station. It's not that far."

Takeru and Taichi walked mostly in silence the majority of the way to the Shinjuku station. It felt weird to Takeru, being in this situation. He never thought he'd see Taichi, or that he'd be associated with the people he was. Still, it seemed there was a lot about the rebel groups that Takeru got wrong. It was surprising to find Taichi in this group, but even more surprising that he didn't go all the way with the ideals.

Taichi stopped, folding his arms across his chest. "Mind telling me what's on your mind, Takeru? You've been staring at me for the last eight minutes."

"Oh." Takeru dipped his head a little in embarrassment. "I guess I was just thinking it was surprising that you're not that comfortable with digimon despite being with Willis' rebel group."

Taichi laughed nervously. "Yeah, kind of funny how that works, huh? Yeah, I admit I'm not all that comfortable with the concept of digimon. When Willis came here, he tried his best to get our group together by pairing us with digimon partners, but he's the only one that is truly comfortable around them. But I'm here because I feel that there really are other ways of sorting the conflict between humans and digimon. Does that make me a hypocrite?"

Takeru shook his head. "No. But I do think you'll be a lot happier and more successful if you and Agumon got along. You're both here because you both believe in the same thing. I'm sure there's more similarities you can find between each other than that."

They stepped out of the forest and into a more public area. Taichi rubbed the back of his neck. "You're right. I was kind of pushing the idea aside. But seeing you with Patamon, that it isn't just Willis being weird, I think I'll give it a chance."

Takeru smiled. "I'm glad."

They stopped in front of the train station and Taichi turned to face Takeru. "I'm glad you decided to join us. See you around."

Takeru waved goodbye and turned to the train station. With a deep breath, he got his ticket and boarded the train.

School was the one normal thing in his life now, it seemed. It didn't matter how crazy his life got, this was still a constant. He could focus better now that he knew Patamon was safe. Takeru grabbed his shoes from his locker, having just finished the last class of the day. He was busily chatting with a fellow member of the basketball team when something bumped into his shoulder.

Books and papers scattered to the floor, Takeru's shoes falling with them. A very nervous looking redhead dove to the floor to collect his things.

"S-sorry." He said, eyes darting this way and that in an effort to claim the papers before someone stepped on them. Takeru bent down, picking up his shoes, and the papers underneath. He dusted off the dried dirt knocked off from the impact.

"Here you go." Takeru said, holding out the papers. Glancing down at them, his eyes fell upon what looked like a schematic of some sort of insect digimon. Takeru's brows furrowed. The other man snatched the papers away and stood up.

"Thank you." He said curtly and walked away.

"Man, that guy is really losing it." Saburo said, shaking his head. "That's an upperclassman, Koushiro Izumi. He's always been a little eccentric, but he's been getting worse lately, it seems. Probably stress from final year."

"Yeah… Maybe." Takeru murmured. He watched as Koushiro slipped out the door.

The upperclassman and his papers were still on Takeru's mind when he arrived in Shinjuku to visit Patamon. Takeru opened the door to see Willis already there, talking with Taichi, who seemed to still have a work uniform on. Agumon, the rabbit digimon and Patamon were also huddled around the table.

"Tachikawa always goes on shopping trips with his daughter on Sundays. So it's logical that then would be the perfect time." Taichi said, glancing over at Takeru, and did a double-take. "Takeru! You're really quiet when you want to be."

"What's going on?" Takeru asked, walking over to the table.

"We're discussing a plan on how to infiltrate the military base where they train the junior division. That building houses a lot of military experimental technology for dealing with digimon." Willis said. "If we can figure out what they're trying to do and perhaps stop it."

"Wow. Sounds kind of dangerous." Takeru said. "Have you ever done this before?"

"A few times. But we haven't done much of anything since our friends were taken." Terriermon said.

"We just have to be extra careful now that we don't have backup." Lopmon said.

"You have that look again." Patamon said, walking over to Takeru. "Something's on your mind."

Takeru gave him a weak smile. "Yeah… today an upperclassman's been acting a little weird. He bumped into me and I saw he had a bunch of papers about digimon. I'm not sure what to make of it."

Taichi and Willis looked at each other. Taichi turned to face Takeru. "It could be that he's intending to join the military. Is he part of the youth division?"

Takeru shook his head. "He doesn't wear a uniform or anything that shows he is."

"Maybe for now you could keep an eye on him, if it worries you." Willis suggested. "Though there's not much we can do if he's just researching digimon."

"True." Takeru was silent after that, listening to Willis and Taichi's plans and making small talk with Patamon. He barely noticed the time until long past sunset. He said his goodbyes and headed to the train station.

Walking home from Tokyo Teleport, Takeru was surprised to see Koushiro Izumi across the street, nervously looking around as he walked with purpose to the east. He seemed almost jumpy. Takeru frowned. Maybe if he followed him he could find out what this was all about? He ignored the light and following Koushiro's path on the opposite side of the street. Koushiro walked all the way to Toritsu Shiokaze Park.

He kept to the thick of the brush, making it increasingly difficult for Takeru to keep up without alerting the older teen to his presence. He kept in pace, stepping when Koushiro stepped and kept his feet clear of fallen twigs. He stopped at what looked like a small campsite with a tarp overtop. Takeru craned in to see. There was a cage inside the tarp area. Inside, was a digimon.


End file.
